No rest for the wicked: Sir Ridley Scott is already talking about filming the sequel to Alien: Covenant a few days before the movie gets released in the U.S. But how many more movies from the popular sci-fi franchise are heading to the big screen? Find out below.

After Covenant

Scott still has plenty of Alien stories to tell. The follow-up to 2012’s Prometheus, Alien: Covenant, will not be available in theaters in the U.S. until Friday, but the genius behind the massive sci-fi franchise already has an idea when the next movie will start filming.

In an interview with Yahoo, the 79-year-old revealed that screenwriter John Logan is already hard at work finishing the script to a direct sequel. Moreover, he plans to start filming after his next projects All The Money In The World and The Cartel.

“I’ll probably be filming it within a year,” Scott explained about the Alien: Covenant sequel. ““It’ll be out within a year and nine months. It’s weird when you’re writing, doing, planning, thinking about franchises, it’s amazing how it opens up and starts to evolve.”

The next movie is rumored to be titled Alien: Awakening which offers an insight as to what it might be about. But it looks like the events that will eventually lead to the original 1979 movie will not happen any time soon. Scott is planning a few more movies for the prequel series.

“I don’t know,” he stated. “[I’ll make] maybe two more [films], or maybe one more, I don’t know.”

Prometheus revived the sci-fi franchise by expanding the Alien mythology. In the prequels, Scott explored the origin of the xenomorphs and questioned why they were created in the first place. It seems like there are still missing puzzle pieces that will not be answered in Alien: Covenant so Scott still has plenty to explore in the next one or two movies.

Scott Sets The Record Straight About Alien 5

In the same interview, Scott also responded to the question about Neil Blomhamp’s Alien 5. The planned sequel was supposed to bring back Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley and Michael Biehn as Corporal Hicks. However, a few weeks ago, it was confirmed that the sequel is no longer in the cards.

Scott clarified that there was no Alien 5. The filmmaker said that there was not even a script.

“It never happened,” he revealed. “I saw it and I waited for something like a script to happen.”

He was supposed to sit as a producer of the fifth installment to the main Alien series. But despite his involvement, he swears he did not know why the project did not push through. ” It was probably Fox’s decision finally, not mine,” he assured.

Neither does he have any idea about The Predator which is also being developed at 20th Century Fox, the same studio behind Alien: Covenant. That said, there is no plans right now for a continuation or a reboot of Alien v Predator.

Alien: Covenant Movie Details And Reviews

Alien: Covenant follows a new crew of a colony ship who discovers paradise but eventually realizes the threat hiding inside it. The movie stars Michael Fassbender as both David and Walter, Katherin Waterston as Daniels, Billy Crudup as Oram, Danny McBride as Tennessee, James Franco as Branson and the return of Noomi Repace as Elizabeth Shaw.

The follow-up to Prometheus currently has a score of 76% on Rotten Tomatoes. It has so far received mixed reviews from movie critics. Variety thought that the movie is basically Prometheus will more Aliens in it. Scott did think that the main problem of fans in the first prequel movie was the lack of the famed xenomorphs.

But The Hollywood Reporter says Alien: Covenant is a vital entry to the franchise that will keep viewers on the tips of their toes until the end.